Growing up, Gladys’ dream was to pursue law, but she ended up becoming a teacher, after being discouraged by her parents’ perception that a career in legal practice would “corrupt her morality”.
Her parents, both teachers, did not want her to mingle with “criminals” who could have potentially become some of her clients had she pursued her childhood dream.
“I’m glad I became a teacher. I’m very happy and fulfilled as a teacher,” says Gladys.
However, she is not only passionate about the chalkboard.
"I'm glad I became a teacher. I'm very happy and fulfilled as a teacher."
The history teacher-cum-techpreneur is behind an Android-powered app, available on Google Play Store, which enables teachers and parents to track children’s progress in school.
Her entrepreneurial spirit debunks the myth that teachers are comfortable doing the bare minimum.
The challenges she faced, as a class teacher in keeping track of performance of 55 students is what gave birth to the idea of the app, which she has conceptualised into a start-up tech venture.
“Teachers, parents and school administrators have separate interfaces to monitor what’s happening in school. So far, we have 10 schools already signed up. We are targeting 50 by end of the year,” she says.
The app, Class Teacher Networks, was voted the Best Education Digital and Tech innovation in Africa 2019 during a competition that attracted nearly 2,000 women.
Gladys, who also holds a Master’s degree in Sociology of Education and Policy Studies from Kenyatta University, says the team of developers and programmers she assembled started working on the app in March 2018. The venture went live later in September.
Besides work, she says “can’t get enough of reading” recipes driven by her passion for cooking.
“I collect recipes for fun and I often wonder when I will cook all of them!”
–Constant Munda
